Moviment Graffitti has called on Malta to put its money where its mouth is and boycott the Eurovision Song Contest in support of Palestine.
The NGO spoke as Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Slovenia announced their boycott after Israel was still allowed to compete.
In a statement on Friday, Movement Graffitti reminded that it had pleaded with Culture Minister Owen Bonnici to join the boycotting countries in protest.
Culture Minister Owen Bonnici had made it clear that Malta will participate in the competition despite Israel’s involvement. His colleague in the PL parliamentary group, MP Edward Zammit Lewis had opposed him, saying, “The same way the European Broadcasting Union kicked out Russia in 2022, Israel should not be allowed to participate for acts which are similar or even worse.”
The NGO is once again calling on government to refuse participation in the Eurovision, saying, “This festival should not serve as an opportunity for Israel to use music to try to cleanse its reputation after the holocaust in Gaza.”
Graffitti said that Malta’s participation would send the message that Israel can commit atrocities with no consequences.
“We reiterate that the argument we often hear, that politics has nothing to do with Eurovision, absolutely does not hold,” the NGO added, reminding that the same EBU had expelled Russia from the competition after its invasion of Ukraine.